The drive to Ashville went by far too quickly for Felix’s liking. He and Jo talked about books and movies and their families. They sat in companionable silence and watched the plains, which really were quite lovely, go by. They sang along to his playlists and shared some of their favorite songs with one another. They played the alphabet game with license plates. They tried turning on a podcast, but couldn’t agree on what to listen to, so they went back to music.
And then, just like that, they were back.
It was nearly eight o’clock by the time they pulled into the driveway at Tito’s house. Felix put the car in park but didn’t turn off the engine. He was just getting dropped off, after all, and then Jo would go home. She was probably excited to sleep in her own bed again after three nights away. Felix sensed her watching him and turned to her. She was smiling gently. He wasn’t quite used to her looking at him like that, like she couldn’t believe her luck. His heart squeezed with some emotion he couldn’t quite name.
Jo hooked a finger into the hem of his shirtsleeve. She pulled him in as she leaned closer, and their lips met tenderly above the cupholders. He wasn’t ready. He didn’t want to watch her drive away.
He held her face and ran his thumb over her cheek, pink from driving in the sun all day. “Are you working tomorrow?”
“No, I took an extra day off.”
“I don’t start until noon,” he said. “Stay. Please.”
“Felix…” She kissed him again, harder and deeper. Her lips parted, and Felix drank her in. He pushed his hand to the back of her head and slid his fingers into her hair. Jo took off her seatbelt and leaned in even farther, clinging to Felix with both hands. He trailed kisses along her jaw. She moaned next to his ear, sweeter than any sound he could imagine.
“You probably have to get home to take care of Merry,” he said.
Jo moaned again. “Do you have any idea how hot it is that you care about my cat?”
“He’s part of your life, cariño. That makes him important to me.”
“Jesus Christ, Felix. Just fuck me already.”
He chuckled and nipped at her earlobe. She inhaled sharply. “Is that a yes to staying over?”
“Yes,” she said. “Vanessa fed Merry dinner a couple of hours ago. He’ll be fine until the morning.”
Felix didn’t know who Vanessa was, and he didn’t really care at the moment. He’d ask later. Right now, they needed to get inside. He returned to Jo’s mouth and kissed her with the promise of more, much more, to come.
They unloaded the car and hurried up the porch steps. Felix fumbled with his keys in his excitement. He’d never brought someone over to this house, and the fact Jo was the first, hopefully the only, was—
The only?
Slow down, man, he told himself. Not just about getting the key in the lock, but about that wild thought. Where the fuck had that even come from? Three days after their first kiss was a little early to be contemplating long-term commitment.
Finally, he got the door open and let Jo go in first. They set their bags on the floor between the burgundy armchairs where Tito and Lita used to watch TV together. Felix never sat there. Jo ran a finger over the leather arm of one. Slowly, she spun in a circle and took in the rest of the room: the brick fireplace with the life-sized wooden ducks on the mantle, the wall-mounted TV surrounded by dozens of family photos, the burgundy couch that matched the armchairs, the blue and goldenrod floral rug that covered most of the hardwood floor.
Something about her standing there, that sweet smile curving lips still swollen from his kisses… For the first time since he’d moved to Ashville, this house felt like home.
She indicated the wall of photos with her head. “Are there any of you?”
He took her by the hand and showed her the photos of him growing up. Photos from the backyard of his home in Tulsa; from family trips to the Alamo, Walt Disney World, and New Orleans; from his childhood soccer team that his grandparents had insisted on calling a football team until it became a running joke. One of the largest ones was his senior picture from high school where his stubble was already so thick he looked about twenty-five. He showed her wedding photos of Tito and Lita, of his parents, of his second and third cousins in Spain. Jo held his hand and listened to him talk and asked thoughtful questions to draw out more stories.
When they reached the end, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you for sharing your family with me,” she said.
“You owe me now.” He tucked his fingers under the hem of her shirt and traced them along her skin. “We need to go to California so I can see all of your embarrassing childhood photos.”
“Oh, there are some choice ones at Dad’s house.” She twirled a lock of his hair around her finger. “I did figure skating for a couple of years. The costumes were extremely sparkly. Nothing like an eight-year-old in rhinestones and stage makeup.”
“I can’t wait. Christmas, right?”
Jo’s eyebrows flickered together in confusion. “What?”
“This morning, you told Kim you’d go back to California for Christmas,” he said and was suddenly struck by the horrible feeling he’d said too much. His whole body went ice cold, except his face, which flushed hot. “I mean—that is, if we… if we’re still—”
She pushed up onto her tiptoes and cut him off with a kiss. He pulled her tighter against his body, giving her something to balance against.
“You want us to be together at Christmas?” she asked.
“I want us to be together for a long time, cariño,” he replied. “I—” There were more words inside him, somewhere deep down and tucked away, words that were too big and too soon and too terrifying to give voice to. Instead of those, he said, “I’m very into you.”
Jo giggled and bit her lip. “The feeling is mutual, hot librarian. I’m very into you too.”
The pressure of her fingers in his hair increased, and Felix let her lower his head. They picked up where they’d left off in the car. Hot, open-mouthed kisses. Panting breaths. Felix’s mouth on Jo’s neck and his hands on her ass.
He’d been telling himself for weeks that it was Jo’s hips he was obsessed with. It seemed safer that way, somehow. Not as lecherous. But he might as well admit the truth to himself. It was her ass he desired. Her wide, dimpled, Rubenesque ass that begged to be gripped and spanked and maybe even fucked, if she’d let him take her that way someday. Oh, how he hoped she would. His dick in her ass and his hand in her cunt. Both hands, if he could manage it. Fucking her twice over and massaging her clit until she screamed and screamed. And after, holding her against his chest, murmuring gentle words, and stroking her hair as their bodies trembled with the aftershocks of pleasure.
His erection grazed Jo’s belly as she slid down from her toes. She ground against him, making him hiss. “God, you’re so hard already.”
“Only because you know exactly how to make me feel good.” He curled his hips toward her to emphasize his words.
She flushed an even rosier shade of pink and glanced away coyly. “You have a bit of a praise kink, don’t you, Felix?”
“I suppose I do,” he chuckled. “I like telling my partner how she makes me feel and when she does something I like. Take right now, for instance. You’re so beautiful when you blush, Jo. I like knowing I’m the one who makes you turn that lovely pink.” He kissed her cheek, feeling the warmth of her skin against his lips. “Is that okay? So far, you’ve seemed to like it, but I can stop if—”
She shook her head, cutting him off. “Don’t. I don’t want you to stop. I didn’t know I liked it until… No one’s ever talked to me like that in bed before. But it’s really nice to hear.”
